Proud
by The cursed child
Summary: Ginny doesn't eavesdrop on Harry and Albus on platform 9 3/4. Because of this Harry speaks his mind. His Slytherin mind. He tries to stop his son. Stop him from making the same decision Harry himself did. Stop him from making the same mistake.
1. the train

**A/N Do you really think that I own Harry Potter?**

"What if I'm in Slytherin?"

The whisper was for his father alone, and Harry knew that only the moment of departure could have forced Albus to reveal how great and sincere that fear was.

Harry crouched down so that Albus' face was slightly above his own. Out of Harry's three children, only Albus had inherited Lily's eyes.

"Albus Severus," Harry said quietly, so that nobody could hear "you were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew."

"But just say-"

"-then Slytherin House will have gained an excellent student, won't it? It doesn't matter to me, Al. But if it matter to you, you'll be able to choose Gryffindor over Slytherin. The Sorting Hat takes your choice into account."

"Really?"

"It did for me," said Harry.

He had never told any of his children that before, and he saw the wonder in Albus' face when he said it.

"But think about it Albus." Harry knew that his son was a Slytherin, he had hidden it from Ginny. Her family never understood Harry and his Slytherin side, even though they tried. That was the reason that Harry never even showed it to anyone but his Albus, the boy that looked like him from head to toe. The messy hair, the green eyes.

"I got the choice during my sorting. Sometimes I still wonder what would have happened, had I chosen Slytherin over Griffindor. Some days when I look back, I cannot help but wonder if I would be standing with the Malfoys right now. I regret my decision every single day, Albus."

"Why dad? You have a wife and us. You have aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron."

"Because we are not like them Albus. I was supposed to be in Slytherin. I could've been great. I could've been friends with Draco and Blaise, with Daphne and Tracy. Maybe I could've convinced them to stay away from Voldemort and killed him before he killed those dear to me. Maybe they would've convinced me and I would've been Voldemort's right hand." Harry laughed quietly. "I never wanted fame, I didn't want to be great. I want to be me, the whole me. There's nothing I want more than being just Harry," he smiled sadly.

"I don't expect you to understand Albus, but I want you to do one thing for me. When you have been sorted into a house I want you to go to the third floor. Follow the path down and look into the mirror there. It will show you what it shows me now."

"I love you, dad," Albus whispered, hugging his father.

"I love you, Albus. Believe I will be proud, maybe even prouder, if you are sorted into Slytherin. Goodbye Snakelet," Harry said, using the nickname he used in private only.

"Bye dad."

**A/N I had been reading a Slytherin Harry fanfic and read the epilogue of HP 7 straight after. The words only Ginny heard gave me an idea. What if she didn't listen? What if Harry was a Slytherin. Harry would be proud of his son, no matter what. I think he would've been just a little bit prouder if he had a son that would be who he was. A son that did what he never could. Be himself.**


	2. the sorting

**A/N I never intended to make this a multi-chapter but I want my reviewers content, and if that means writing another chapter, than who am I to say no?**

Albus was looking at the ceiling of the great hall in awe. He had been surprised when his dad told him that he regretted his life as a Gryffindor. His father had told him about the war. He told Albus about his adventures at Hogwarts. The mistakes he made, the decisions he took. The lives he could've saved.

Once he had told Albus about the lives that were lost because of his rash actions, he broke down. His dad hadn't shed a tear, but he had looked extremely lost.

Harry hadn't left anything out. A week before his first year at Hogwarts had been an eye-opener. The stories that had been told before going to sleep had been stories of love and adventure. Not of the pain and trials that the 'Golden Trio' had been through.

Harry didn't wrap his children in a blanket. He told them the truth and told them the solutions. He made them decide if everything was going to be ok. He raised his children to be independent and think for themselves.

He loved Ginny of course, but they had started arguing a lot about the treatment of their children. He loved them all, but where James became a perfect Griffindor, Albus became a perfect mix of the two houses. He had the bravery of Gryffindors, but the cunning and ambition of a Slytherin.

But you didn't need bravery to be sorted into Gryffindor, you didn't need to work hard to get sorted into Hufflepuff. Because there is no person on the planet that isn't smart and brave and hard working and ambitious. Albus took aunt Hermione as an example for this. She had all of those treats and she was still sorted into Gryffindor.

The Sorting Hat chose to let his dad choose, would he get the choice? Would Albus get it? What would he choose?

Albus looked up when his name was called. He heard the whispers that accompanied the Potter name of course. Albus looked at the staff table. He saw Professor McGonagall on his namesake's chair, the newest DADA professor of course and Hagrid was waving at him.

Albus sat down on the four-legged stool and the hat was placed on his head.

_You have a very interesting mind._

Albus jumped a little bit, although barely noticeable.

_Don't worry, I won't hurt you. Your thoughts are pretty messy. I see you've given your sorting lots of thought._

"My family has been pressuring me," Albus whispered.

_But Mr. Potter hasn't. He believes that you should leave it up to me. He is also convinced that you will be able to choose._

"Will I?" he asked, making sure that no one heard.

_Regrettably yes, you have an understanding that your peers do not. You understand that everyone has the traits of every house and yet I place you were I think that you belong, where you fit in. Your father made the mistake of choosing for his current friends instead of listening to my advice. _

_He didn't see what I saw in the mind of the young Malfoy. I saw a boy, a boy that wanted a friend that didn't care about his surname. He wanted a friend, not a lackey. He was so much like your father. I made myself believe that the Weasley kid in his mind could be the same friend that the Malfoy kid could. For that reason and that reason only I fulfilled your father's wish. _

_I knew I made a mistake when Ronald's mind was mine to explore. He would be a good friend, of that was no doubt. There was a mistake however, Mr. Thomas and Finnegan would've been great friends for him, but he did not need Mr. Potter. Draco needed him. He needed Harry to guide him. Because of that mistake I destroyed countless lives._

_Don't believe for a second that the young Malfoy could've turned your father to Voldemort. If Malfoy would've lost his attitude and used his father's influence to guide his house together with your father… This war wouldn't have taken the lives it did. I told your father this when he came to speak to Headmaster Dumbledore's portret._

_I won't make the same mistake again._

"You don't have to. My dad told me about his mistakes and regrets. I will live my life as me. I won't be anything less. I am a Slytherin."

_Do me a favor, young Potter. Do what I didn't give your father a chance for. Help the youngest Malfoy. Your siblings have each other, he has no one._

_You Albus, you belong in Slytherin. _

Albus was surrounded by silence. He looked at his brother. James looked confused, but that was expected. His cousins had the same look as James. He couldn't fault them.

Albus walked to the table covered in green and saw Scorpius start clapping. The rest of the table joined in. Albus looked for a place to sit and decided that he wanted a friend in the house of snakes. He sat next to Scorpius and stuck out his hand.

"Albus Potter, nice to meet you."

"Scorpius Malfoy, it's a pleasure." 


	3. The mirror

Albus followed the path down. He had taken the invisibility cloak from James. Fluffy hadn't been guarding the trapdoor, that made it very easy to go down. He had a sore landing, as he hadn't landed in Devil's Snare.

He followed the path to a room in which the keys were littering the floor, the magic had disappeared. The key with the broken wing was still in the door.

He turned the knob and was faced with a massive chessboard. The pieces were still in their place. The king hadn't picked his sword up and was still poised as if his father was still in the position to destroy him.

He entered the next room and his prayers were answered when he didn't smell a troll.

He easily entered the room with the potions. The potions used for the fire were easily identified. They were on the ground. Both empty. The riddle told him that the others were poison and nettle wine. The fires didn't ignite, Albus thought that meant that the magic had expired there too. He entered the last room.

There, in the middle of the room stood the fascinating mirror of Erised. He walked down the steps carefully, noticing blood on the steps. He stood in front of the mirror with closed eyes. _"__I want you to go to the third floor. Follow the path down and look into the mirror there. It will show you what it shows me now.__" _

What did it show his father? His dad used to see his family, why doesn't it anymore? What could his father desire above all else?

He didn't dare to open his eyes. What would he himself see in this mirror? He already had a family. He was already making friends within every house. He didn't desire the Quidditch cup, because like his dad there was no greater joy in flying according to Albus. He would like the approval of his family, but he had his dad's, which meant more to him than all of the other's. What could he see?

Albus Severus opened his eyes and observed himself in the mirror. He was standing there, just a reflection of himself. He was extremely confused.

"I am proud of you."

His father stepped out from behind the mirror.

"Dad!" Albus yelled and threw himself in his arms. "What are you doing here?"

"I got back from another talk with Albus. He went to visit Ariana in her portret. I decided that I could visit you too. "

"Can I ask a question?" Albus asked, stepping back.

"You can ask me anything you want," Harry said, laying his hand on Albus' shoulder.

"Why do I see myself in the mirror? Do you too?" Albus asked. He remembered his father's words. "It will show you what it shows me now" Why would his father see himself, he seemed to be a man with many desires.

"I see myself yes. I see myself standing in Slytherin robes, just like you do. Only I cannot see myself, because of a mistake I made when I was young, but you can. You see yourself Albus, because the only person who can see himself, is the person that is who he is. You are you, Albus. That is what the mirror shows you, and I couldn't be prouder of you than I am today."

**A/N Thank you all for your reviews and your compliments. This is the last chapter of 'Proud' and I hope you enjoyed it.**

**I would like to answer the review from Jokegirl, because I do like Ginny and I want to avoid any misunderstandings.**

**I understand that you may have derived from my story that I hate Ginny. I would like to tell you that I read fics in which Ginny is bashed, but I enjoy reading fics wherein she is a strong girl standing up for herself and harry even more. Most of my favorites are Ginny/Harry.**

**I know what JK said, but I needed a scapegoat. Understand that Harry loves Ginny, but because the Weasleys could've been happy without him he regrets not helping those in need. **

**Hermione could've become friends with the Ravenclaws, with whom she could've studied instead of not being appreciated until Harry and Ron grow up.**

**Maybe Ron wouldn't be jealous all the time because he had a famous and wealthy friend.**

**Ginny would've found happiness eventually, seeing as she was already trying to move on.**

**Maybe Percy would've never left the family, because they didn't choose Harry over him (that is what happened). **

**Fred could've been alive because Percy didn't leave and maybe he would've been able to concentrate better instead of joking around.**

**Sirius could've been alive, because if Harry was friends with Draco than he would know about Kreature helping the Malfoys resulting in Kreacher telling Harry that Sirius is in fact home when asked.**

**Changing the facts is a part of fanfiction and listening in could be seen as eavesdropping in Harry's POV. **

**I like the Weasleys and Dumbledore, but I think that Harry could've helped the Slytherins, because they needed him and the Weasleys would turn out right anyway. **


	4. James

**A/N I've decided to continue this story. There will be confrontations between Harry and Lily and Harry and Ginny. I'll probably write a chapter with the whole family. So, this story will be updated again. If you have an idea for a chapter, just write it in a review and I'll try to use it in my story.**

"You've always underestimated me." Harry had been staring at the mirror ever since Albus left and jumped when he heard the voice. The voice that was very familiar to him.

"James?" Harry asked.

"Do you know what I see in the mirror?" James stepped out off the shadows. Harry didn't know how long he'd been waiting there. His son loved pranks and was very good at sneaking around. He must've seen Harry on the Map and came looking for him.

"I see myself. You are standing behind me, with your hand on my shoulder. Mum stands next to you, and you have your arm wrapped around her. Albus and Lily stand to my left. We're all smiling."

"I found this room after you told us about your first year. I wondered, why did the mirror show me what I already had? The answer was hard to come up with. I searched for reasons and came back to the easiest one. I didn't have a smiling, happy family. I lived a lie."

"You're happy with your life, with us. I can see that much. You and mum have been fighting since I was born. It's my fault that you don't love each other anymore."

"That's not true James. You have nothing to do with our disagreements. And we still love each other."

"Do you? Aunt Hermione tells me stories once in a while. She likes to focus on the things that happened after the war, happy times, she calls them."

"She told me that you helped each other with nightmares. That you did everything together. That you would look into each other's eyes and know what the other was thinking. Aunt Hermione was fascinated by it. She told me that it stopped happening after I was born."

"It had nothing to do with you, James. We loved each other and the war was what brought us together. When the war ended we started again and all was well for a while, but things change. You are not yourself when you are at war. You hide things, weaknesses, thing that could give you an advantage. I hid a part of me, and I know she hides one too," Harry tried to explain.

"I was, no, am a hero, James. There were expectations. For me, but also for my friends. I hang out with the Weasleys, a well-known light and pureblooded family. I trapped them into the war. They were a part of it, but they had a bigger role to play because of me." He'd never stopped feeling guilty. The people who had nothing to do with this war had been captured and tortured and killed. Innocence had been lost because he'd been naive.

"I made them hide things about themselves. Molly, a duelist before she gave birth to Bill. Charlie, who rides dragons had to hide it because he didn't want to be recruited. Fred and George, who gave up their brilliant minds for pranks instead of the potions they wanted to create when they had made enough money with their shop to start experimenting. Don't even start with Ron and Hermione and what I did to them. Neville, who wasn't ready for what I forced on him. Luna, who lost her innocence because I put her in that cell in Malfoy Manor. And Ginny, who was corrupted when she was only eleven. Colin and Dennis, whose lives I destroyed. There are so many things that we hid…. We started to live the lie." And it had worked for a while. They'd been together and happy. A part of you that has been locked up for so long is not missed after a while, until you break.

"They all came clean after the war. They became who they wanted to be, and it was a miracle that they stayed together. I never came clean, and neither did Ginny. We still lived the lie and your birth was the final straw. I wanted to raise you in a different way than she wanted. You had nothing to do with this, James."

"I started it." Harry doubted it. It had started before James' birth. He'd been looking for the signals and noticed them immediately when they showed. James' birth was what saved his family, his marriage. It enabled him to keep his family. He didn't want to lose Ginny, but she refused to open up to him. That was what they were fighting about. They were the same, they understood each other, but Ginny refused to show what she'd become. She wanted to keep the mask for her family. She was still living a lie. And that was not who he married. He didn't want a trophy wife, and that was what she pretended to be. She'd been at his side, not behind him. He was not going to live a lie. He needed to talk to his wife.

"It was just a matter of time. You can't live a lie forever. She's just not ready to show everyone who she is."

"Maybe, just maybe, it's time to talk to her about it. Or this family won't be a family anymore."

"I'll try, James. And thank you and I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For your advice and for underestimating you. I have been blind for too long. I couldn't see what was right in front of me. I have a wonderful son. I'm sorry, Jamie."


	5. Ginny

**A/N I'm sorry for the delay. I decided that I wouldn't make a chapter with Lily. I doubt that a 9 year old can offer wise words. No offense, but this situation is a little hard to understand when you're still small. This chapter was inspired by reflection from Mulan.**

**look at me  
I will never pass for a perfect bride, or a perfect daughter** = I ignored this, because she was pretending to be perfect.  
**can it be I'm not meant to play this part** = This showed me that Ginny was still insecure about her purpose in life.  
**now I see that if I were truly to be myself  
I would break my family's heart **= And this explains itself, doesn't it? She thinks that being a Slytherin would make her family repulsed.

**Who is that girl I see  
staring straight back at me?** = This refers to Ginny being unsatisfied with playing a role  
**Why is my reflection someone I don't know** = Her reflection is the mask she's put on  
**somehow I cannot hide** = This refers to Harry  
**who I am, though I've tried** = This is basically what this fic was about  
**when will my reflection show who I am inside  
when will my reflection show who I am inside **= this refers to the day she lets her mask fall. This will happen at the end of the story.

**This is also the end of Proud, because I think that another chapter would ruin the emotion that I'm trying to portray here.**

**So this is our lovely Ginny and the proof that I do like her (when she's not a lovesick puppy, or a manipulative ***** with love potions..) **

Harry came home late and listened for any sounds. He found a note on the table that told him that both of his girls were sleeping. He threw his jacket on the couch and opened closed the window.

He was still thinking about his conversation with James. He had underestimated his oldest son. He'd only seen the pranks, not the fact that James never got caught. The Gryffindor was a puzzle he'd never bothered to solve, and he regretted that a lot.

How couldn't his children be Slytherins? Their parents were by heart, even if one of them still denied it. Harry sighed and let his thoughts flow.

If the second year was more Slytherin than he could've imagined, what was his princess than? Little Lily always looked so innocent. She was always happy and cheerful, and she would dance rather than walk around the house. She was rarely sad and he couldn't think of Lily as a Slytherin, and he was still contemplating it.

The girl was just like her mother, but she hadn't seen the hardships that they'd been through, and the man hoped she never would. Time would tell.

He stood up and started cleaning the house. He made sure that neither his wife, nor his daughter woke up.

Cleaning helped him process things. It kept him awake and alert, because he couldn't sleep yet. He never slept before midnight. The nightmares woke him up after a few hours and he wouldn't be able to sleep anymore after that.

Ginny used to comfort him after those, but not anymore. Every wizard had played a role in the war, and they'd kept playing it long after Voldemort went down. One by one the Weasleys had dropped the role, like many had done before them.

But not them. Ginny and Harry had kept the masks up. They had been front-page news for weeks after they got together again. The Chosen One and his fiancée had not been slandered because they were perfect. Ginny was the trophy wife that would take care of the children and he was the hero that kept chasing dark wizards as an auror.

It had taken them weeks to drop those masks when they were with each other in private. It had been the best period of his life. He'd known what she was thinking and she'd seen the answer in his eyes. They finished each other's sentences and laughed while they held long talks, holding each other close.

That had ended when his beloved wife got pregnant for the first time. They'd started to argue about the way to raise James. Ginny wanted to keep him ignorant of the war until he was taught in History of Magic, while Harry wanted to tell him before the boy went to Hogwarts. She didn't want her family to think she was raising her son the wrong way.

He'd try to convince her many times that her family loved her and that they loved the slightly modified Harry. He wanted her to see that everyone would be happier when Ginny didn't act like a trophy wife that accompanied her husband to parties and drank tea with the wives of other important figures in society.

Ginny wanted to keep her image as a good wife, but he pushed her to start working. He knew she wanted to and he'd used her family to make her agree.

He didn't know why she acted like this. He didn't know why she was afraid. Did that make him a bad husband? She seemed to be afraid of her reflection sometimes. She always let Lily do her hair, she never looked at her own face. The wizard couldn't decide why.

He couldn't believe he'd missed the signs before. He'd been so caught up in his own insecurities that he hadn't noticed that others were struggling too.

He walked up the stairs and admired the pictures on the wall. He understood what James had said. The picture was staged. His arms held little Lily, while James and Albus stood like friends, something they'd never truly been.

Ginny was smiling, her arm linked through his, a pose they'd never taken willingly. Their relationship existed out of lingering and subtle touches, small sentences and reading each others eyes. It had never been big gestures and long talks in public.

They'd had long discussions in private, and they lay in each others arms, but linked arms was too formal. It wasn't their kind of romance and that was the biggest reason that he hated parties.

He missed his Ginny. The one that was witty and deviant. The girl that didn't let herself be made fun of. The woman that was feared for her bat-bogey hex, the one she rarely used these days.

He found himself in front of his daughter's room and he opened the door. The little girl was lying in her bed, her sheets had landed on the floor and she was shivering from the cold wind that entered through her window.

He closed the window soundlessly and grabbed the blanket. He tucked the red-haired girl in and removed a strand of hair out off her face. She looked like an angel lying there. He was still thinking about her request. She wanted to go to Beauxbatons.

She'd seen the school when she went with Bill and Fleur and her cousins. She'd been impressed and had compared it to Hogwarts, a place where she'd been every other week.

The girl had always been close to Gabrielle. The two had always done things together because they had so much in common. Gabrielle would tell stories about the French school and Lily would listen until she fell asleep. Lily learned French all by herself and surprised her family, her friends, and basically everyone when the (then) eight-year-old started talking fluent French to Fleur.

Fleur started talking back for two minutes until she realised that she'd switched back to her native tongue.

Both of Lily's parents still didn't know what to do. Harry and Ginny agreed on waiting to choose until Albus had boarded the train. They would talk about it in the morning.

He took one last look at his daughter and closed the door. He turned around and came face to face with his wife. Ginny smiled softly and grabbed his hand.

She led him to the kitchen and he took his time to study her. She was skinny, she had bags under her eyes and she was pale. Ginny barely ate and she slept just an hour more than he did. She rarely came out and walked in the park. He wondered what had triggered it. He had been known to do it himself all the time, but it had started mere weeks ago for his wife.

It had started when Albus got his letter, now he thought about it. He decided to confront her. They were both awake, Lily was asleep, and they needed to do it now.

"Why did you wake?"

"I didn't, I couldn't sleep at all."

"Insomnia?"

He knew it was the wrong thing to ask. She winced and turned her back on him.

"No, it wasn't," she denied.

He was tired of it. They'd had this conversation dozens of times. When the kids were sleeping, in the garden and practically everywhere they were alone. The children had noticed and their friends started to notice too. They were out of time.

"Stop it," he whispered softly.

Ginny turned around in shock. Harry had never ordered her to stop before. The conversation had always ended with her denial. She would walk away, or he would sit down and ignore her. He couldn't handle it.

"What happened that night Gin? You woke up screaming your head off when we came back from Diagon Alley. That never happened before."

"Nothing happened, Harry. I'm just worried about Albus, that's all."

Feeling satisfied with her answer she tried to walk up the stairs, but she was stopped by a barrier. She faced Harry and drew her wand.

"Drop that barrier and let me go to bed."

"You can't sleep," her husband replied.

"We are going to talk, Gin. I want to do it now."

"Fine! You want to talk. Talk."

Ginny walked down the two steps she'd been able to climb and put her wand back in her holster. The Chosen one would have to choose his words carefully, because she was furious, and that automatically made her deviant.

"Our marriage is falling apart. We're fighting all the time and James has noticed. I don't doubt the fact that Lily and Albus do too. "

She looked like she was going to protest and he fell silent. He wanted to hear what she thought. It was easier to let her tell her side of the story and point out the faults in it, than to let her do it to him.

"I know that they've noticed, but they shouldn't have! We are fighting about nothing! If you realised that, everything would go back to normal."

"Define normal for me, Gin. What do you think?"

"If you stop looking for things that aren't there, and we stop fighting, we can go back to how we were. We'll have dinner at Ron's and visit Gabrielle in France. We'll go to Charlie and you can ride the Horntail. Just not this."

"That's normal," Harry agreed. But before she could smile and leave he continued.

"It's normal when we are whom we are. It's normal to do that when you are healthy again."

"I am healthy."

"You should see yourself in the mirror, love. You are tired and underfed. You only go outside to shop and you're deadly pale. What's happening, Gin?"

Ginny looked at him like he had punched her in the face. She was surprised and angry. She looked like she was going to scream, but she remembered Lily and stopped the words. Now that shouting wasn't an option she chose for sitting down and letting her tears flow.

Her brain stopped working and the salty drops ran down her face. She couldn't breathe anymore and she panicked. Arms wrapped around her and a voice spoke words she didn't understand. She calmed down and she got her breathing under control.

"I can't."

"Can't what?"

"I can't look in the mirror. I can't. My eyes, they flash. I can't look at the red eyes in my reflection. It hurts so much. I'm scared, Harry."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I've handled it for 25 years, I don't need your help, I just need time."

Harry looked into her eyes. How could he not have known? They'd never dealt with the diary. Everyone knew she had nightmares, but she'd gotten over it in a couple of weeks. She never talked about it, and that was the problem.

Ginny and he were so much alike. They didn't talk about their problems, they bottled everything up until they broke. And this woman had held out longer than anyone else, even him.

"I think it's time you do. I want you, Gin. I want the girl I saw on train station 26 years ago. I want the girl that knew when to say no. I don't want a mask, I've had enough of those in my life. Who are you Ginny?"

"I am a girl that looks into the mirror and sees an innocent girl that hides the devil in her soul. What do you want me to do? To say? I wanted to know you before I even met you. I wanted to know what it was like to be a hero."

"When I started writing in that journal, I wanted a friend. My year mates didn't like me. I was poor and ugly and they didn't want to have anything to do with it. When Tom offered me friendship I accepted and I felt justified in doing so, even when I found out who he was."

"I wanted to change his views. I though that once I could do that I would have a real friend. I was in love with the idea. All my brothers ignored me and my hero was not even a hero, or so I thought. I was lost without Tom. As soon as I noticed that he could control my body and that I was losing pieces of my memory I knew that I couldn't change him. I was sure that I was dead."

"That was when you saved me. I knew that I had a piece of Tom in me. I felt it. My magic got stronger, spells were easier to learn. I didn't tell a soul. They would want to study me, find out what had happened, so I kept it from everyone."

"But there was always you. You spoke to snakes, you had nightmares and you had a connection to him. I got to know about you and I was calmed by the fact that you were hiding something too. When you didn't notice and I went to Hermione she told me to move on. What she didn't realise is that I couldn't. You were the only one that could possibly understand me, but I relented."

"Tom stayed on my mind all the time. I couldn't get him out off my head. That was when I started to hear things. It was not Tom, it was his power. The snakes in the forest spoke to me, they were my friends. They helped me make decisions and I could talk to them freely. It wasn't like you would ask them to tell you my secrets," she hissed softly.

The revelations didn't surprise Harry as much as they should. He'd known already. His wife had switched between the languages often when they were in the garden, but he hadn't spoken to her about it. He had feared the power then, and though he didn't mind her using it, e couldn't speak in it. It reminded him of the hissing in his dreams. Nagini had almost killed him and he thought that she deserved the secret. He hadn't known that she had enough of those already.

"I think that sometimes I still hear his voice. I hear the things he told me then. I think that what I want to do is still influenced by what happened all those years ago. I am a Gryffindor, just like the rest of my family."

"I figured out years ago that the sorting is not based on traits, Ginny. The hat places us in the house were we'll be accepted as a family. It happened to me. It happened to you too."

"No it didn't."

"If Tom's influence started right away, people would say that you would've been sent straight to Slytherin. But the hat put you with your family. Slytherin would've been too dangerous for you. Tom doesn't influence you anymore Ginny."

Harry covered her eyes and walked with her.

"I met James and Albus at the mirror of Erised. My heart's biggest desire was to be who I was, and I'll never succeed. But you can. You are who you are Ginny, you don't need the mirror, you just need this."

He laid his hands on her hips and enabled her to see. She looked at her reflection and tried to move away, closing her eyes. Harry prevented he from moving and he whispered softly in her ear.

"I see a beautiful woman. I see a woman who's been through as much as I have, if not more. You had no friends while I had many, and you kept on going long after I did. You don't have to be afraid, because we're here for you. You did what Tom could never do. You rose above your peers and you became someone that will make the world see who you are. I am proud to be your husband."

"In this mirror, Ginny, I see my wife."

**A/N I'm actually pretty proud of Proud. I've enjoyed writing this immensely. I thank you all for your reviews, your alerts and putting the story on your list of favorites. I thank everyone for reading this and I hope that you'll take a look at my other stories. Thank you all. **


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